Gas tank and mpg questions, new to me used 2006, bear with me.

[jax4bangin]

I got 600.5 miles out of a tank of gas in a 93 Ranger XLT I4 2.3 Manual a couple of summers ago.

u got a ex cab or long bed? cause theres no way ur pullin that with a standard size tank (16 gallons)

 

[jax4bangin]

Actually your engine would be very happy at it's torque peak which is above 3500rpm... My 4.0 is most efficient at 2500rpm (it's peak torque)... If I can drive in 4th gear at 55 (2500rpm) I can easily get 20mpg... If I move to 5th gear it drops to about 17ish mpg...

Also, I'm pretty sure your RPM has nothing to do with open and closed loop...

iv herd this before, and it is correct, but it depends on the situation at hand..

example: driving with a heavy load in the bed; it will be much easier to maintain a steady speed when driving at ur engines peak torque. the engine will work less and be much more efficient than driving at a lower rpm with ur foot down on the pedal.

example2: driving with no load; when driving for fuel economy(slow and steady) its unnessary to use excesive rpm when u dont have hardly any load on the engine. personally, i got my best mpg when shifting at 2500 rpm or less and just bearely pressin the go pedal.

if ur going for fuel economy in a duratec truck and ur driving at peak torque
(154lb-ft @3800) then im sorry but u wont be seein anything close to 30mpg

 

[Beanmachine7000]

iv herd this before, and it is correct, but it depends on the situation at hand..

example: driving with a heavy load in the bed; it will be much easier to maintain a steady speed when driving at ur engines peak torque. the engine will work less and be much more efficient than driving at a lower rpm with ur foot down on the pedal.

example2: driving with no load; when driving for fuel economy(slow and steady) its unnessary to use excesive rpm when u dont have hardly any load on the engine. personally, i got my best mpg when shifting at 2500 rpm or less and just bearely pressin the go pedal.

if ur going for fuel economy in a duratec truck and ur driving at peak torque
(154lb-ft @3800) then im sorry but u wont be seein anything close to 30mpg

Actually, you WILL get your best fuel mileage at you engine's peak torque, don't tell me physics doesn't work When you are driving at anything other than when your engine can move the most air efficiently you are creating more heat... Yes, you may inject less fuel into the combustion chamber at lower RPM's, but less of that fuel is being used to create power, it's going to heat (ie. wasted energy)... I'd like to know why your engine is so different when towing than when not, you are still pushing something (your truck)... It's not like your engine knows it's towing, all it knows it that there is more cylinder pressure, so it creates more heat (which is why you get lower fuel mileage when towing)...

 

[jax4bangin]

Actually, you WILL get your best fuel mileage at you engine's peak torque, don't tell me physics doesn't work When you are driving at anything other than when your engine can move the most air efficiently you are creating more heat... Yes, you may inject less fuel into the combustion chamber at lower RPM's, but less of that fuel is being used to create power, it's going to heat (ie. wasted energy)... I'd like to know why your engine is so different when towing than when not, you are still pushing something (your truck)... It's not like your engine knows it's towing, all it knows it that there is more cylinder pressure, so it creates more heat (which is why you get lower fuel mileage when towing)...

im not tryin to disprove ur knowledge on anything.. but go see for urself, drive a stock duratec truck unloaded/flat ground @70 mph in 4th gear(roughly 3500 rpm) and test mileage.. then do the same test but in 5th(roughly 2600rpm) and see for urself which test consumes more fuel

 

[Kayak Mud Puppy]

u got a ex cab or long bed? cause theres no way ur pullin that with a standard size tank (16 gallons)

Extended cab with a 21 gallon tank I believe.

 

[press 1 for english]

Anyone have any ideas on tracking this down?

I've gone through a few more tanks and never hit 24mpg, usually just around 23. I cruise at 60mph on the small local highway, accelerate slowly, stay under 3krpm, etc. I'm always the slowest off the line even if I do catch up later.

I see everyone on here talking about averaging 27+mpg and living at 4500 rpm, others stay at low rpms. So far I've just been accepting of it and hoping it picks up when summer gas gets here. Got a free oil change at the dealership coming up in a week, thinking about doing some tune up then, but I hate to throw parts at a problem instead of figuring it out first.

I wouldn't believe any of the outrageous fuel mileage claims on the Ranger internet forums. They are full of it or just bad at math.
The best I ever got from my 09 2.3/5 spd Ranger was 25 mpg and that was 75% hwy. The 06 Ranger 2.3/5 spd has an EPA rating of 21 city/26 Hwy......why people claim they get the same economy as a Honda Civic is beyond my thinking.
It's a brick aerodynamic wise so expect 24-26 mpg.
As far as the fuel tank and gauge goes, you have to deal with it, my low fuel light comes on when I have 4 gallons left in the tank......no big deal.

 

[press 1 for english]

I got 600.5 miles out of a tank of gas in a 93 Ranger XLT I4 2.3 Manual a couple of summers ago.

 

[dla]

im not tryin to disprove ur knowledge on anything.. but go see for urself, drive a stock duratec truck unloaded/flat ground @70 mph in 4th gear(roughly 3500 rpm) and test mileage.. then do the same test but in 5th(roughly 2600rpm) and see for urself which test consumes more fuel

1mpg difference.

 

[dla]

I wouldn't believe any of the outrageous fuel mileage claims on the Ranger internet forums. They are full of it or just bad at math.
The best I ever got from my 09 2.3/5 spd Ranger was 25 mpg and that was 75% hwy. The 06 Ranger 2.3/5 spd has an EPA rating of 21 city/26 Hwy......why people claim they get the same economy as a Honda Civic is beyond my thinking.
It's a brick aerodynamic wise so expect 24-26 mpg.
As far as the fuel tank and gauge goes, you have to deal with it, my low fuel light comes on when I have 4 gallons left in the tank......no big deal.

The control system on 2.3l doesn't sense and adjust for ethanol. So if you are using E10, etc. you will see your fuel economy drop by 3mpg. I get 29mpg @70mph with straight regular gas and 26mpg with E10.

 

[press 1 for english]

The control system on 2.3l doesn't sense and adjust for ethanol. So if you are using E10, etc. you will see your fuel economy drop by 3mpg. I get 29mpg @70mph with straight regular gas and 26mpg with E10.

I see your point, but all the gas stations around here sell nothing but fuel with 10% ethanol. Where do you find your fuel? How much more expensive is it?

 

[locovaca]

The control system on 2.3l doesn't sense and adjust for ethanol. So if you are using E10, etc. you will see your fuel economy drop by 3mpg. I get 29mpg @70mph with straight regular gas and 26mpg with E10.

That's because no system adjusts for E10. It's supposed to be a drop-in replacement for straight gas. Whether or not that reflects reality is a different topic...

Most of our stations around here are all E10, but some also sell some straight gas. I've done tests and have not had an appreciable difference in running either, all within a half MPG or less. But like most things it all depends on how you drive it I guess.

 

[press 1 for english]

That's because no system adjusts for E10. It's supposed to be a drop-in replacement for straight gas. Whether or not that reflects reality is a different topic...

Most of our stations around here are all E10, but some also sell some straight gas. I've done tests and have not had an appreciable difference in running either, all within a half MPG or less. But like most things it all depends on how you drive it I guess.

I agree that driving styles affect fuel economy but to get 30 mpg one would have to be driving 100% downhill and down wind until the tank is empty.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

systems DO adjust for e10

using e10 you'll see worse milage than 100% gasoline, and e85 is even worse.

ethanol needs to run richer to be stoichometric.

driving habits have the largest impact on fuel milage. and the comment about 3k rpms changing to open loop.. im pretty sure its engine load that determines when it switches to open loop because the computer switches to a rich mixture under load to provide power

more pedal=more engine load=more fuel

most i've even gotten out of my ranger was 30mpg going 50mph the whole way and babying the throttle, never been able to do it again.

i average about 20-25mpg now i drive like an old man through hilly/curvy terrain everyday

 

[dla]

systems DO adjust for e10

using e10 you'll see worse milage than 100% gasoline, and e85 is even worse.

ethanol needs to run richer to be stoichometric.

driving habits have the largest impact on fuel milage. and the comment about 3k rpms changing to open loop.. im pretty sure its engine load that determines when it switches to open loop because the computer switches to a rich mixture under load to provide power

more pedal=more engine load=more fuel

most i've even gotten out of my ranger was 30mpg going 50mph the whole way and babying the throttle, never been able to do it again.

i average about 20-25mpg now i drive like an old man through hilly/curvy terrain everyday

What year did they add an Ethanol sensor?

 

[dla]

I see your point, but all the gas stations around here sell nothing but fuel with 10% ethanol. Where do you find your fuel? How much more expensive is it?

Where I live they used to switch from "Winter" to "summer" fuel. Winter was E10. Also used to vary depending on rural versus city. Ethanol is a giant ripoff.